Indian army 'kills' suspected militants in Kashmir

The Indian army said today it had killed eight suspected Islamic militants in two overnight gunbattles after they infiltrated Indian-controlled Kashmir from Pakistani territory.

Soldiers intercepted two separate groups of insurgents in forested areas near the disputed border and opened fire, Lieutenant Colonel Mukhtiar Singh, an army spokesman, said.

Five suspected insurgents were killed in a gunbattle in the Keran sector, 115 miles north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-held Kashmir. "The ensuing gunbattle lasted seven hours," Lt Col Singh said.

Soldiers killed three more insurgents in a fight in the Maschil sector, about 20 miles away, officials said.

According to the army, the battles marked the second and third attempts in the past two days by Pakistan-based insurgents to enter Indian-controlled Kashmir.

On Sunday, the army killed seven suspected guerrillas after they crossed over from Pakistan-held territory in the same area, Lt Col Singh said.

There was no independent confirmation of the army's claims.

India accuses Pakistan of training, arming and sending militants into Indian-controlled territory to attack government soldiers and targets. Pakistan says it only provides moral and diplomatic support to rebels.

More than a dozen rebel groups have been fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with Pakistan since 1989. Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety.

Officials say 35,000 people have been killed since the rebellion broke out. Separatists put the figure at 80,000.

The two countries' forces have been confronting each other across their frontier since an attack in December on the Indian parliament that India blamed on Pakistan-based Muslim rebels.

Both countries possess nuclear weapons and, until tensions eased in June, it was feared the conflict between them might escalate into all-out war.

India says it will hold talks with Pakistan on the Kashmir dispute only after Islamabad stops supporting crossborder terrorism.

New Delhi says infiltration by insurgents is continuing despite the claim by Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, that he has done whatever was needed to stop crossborder movement.

There are fears that separatist rebels will increase attacks before state elections in Kashmir in September and October.